Also, I have to wonder if Al Golden will abandon the U ship while he can. Remember, he brought the sinking ship that was Temple back to the national football conversation. Obviously Temple is the same recruiting turf for Penn State. While he was reviving Temple, I know some people mentioned him for the PSU whenever JoePa left. In the interim he took the Miami job.

"Michigan man or woman. To me, it's a great love for the University of Michigan. There's a selflessness there. It's what can you do for the University of Michigan, not what the Universtiy of Michigan can do for you." JH

Golden would make the most sense. He didn't sign up for the drama going on in Miami, and he doesn't seem like a Miami coach. He's also one of the coaches out there that actually believes in Penn State and would want to bring it back up from this low point in its history.

i like Meyer for an un-opened job at this moment...Alabama. If the chatter is true, that Saban may be in line for an NFL coaching job next year (40-60 he goes off of limited data), than I think that is perfect for Urban...If not something big in the SEC, I don't see him coming back....esp for the BIG

I would love to see where you're hearing this one. I've got a TON of Alabama fans and no one seems to be hearing anything about him leaving anytime soon.

Though I wouldn't be too surprised. Saban is the most Prideful guy and he did not do well in the NFL. That's always been his goal, so wouldn't surprise me if the right situation popped up. But, I just have not heard anything from the Alabama camps.

I don't know which program disaster I'd want to walk into between those two. Urban generally strikes me as an all right, if wierd, guy and I imagine him not having great feeling about either of the two athletic departments right about now.

If it turns out that he knew nothing about what Sandusky was doing, he shouldn't be blackballed. Being able to continue the same system should help them over the next few years. Paterno's handling of this case was inexcusable but it doesn't follow that they have to rip out his entire program at the roots and start over from scratch.

It's unfair if he wasn't involved/didn't know anything, but dem's the breaks. There's no way PSU would take the inevitably huge PR hit for hiring him, which it would, unless it could demonstrably prove that he didn't know (which they can't, because you can't prove a negative like that).

Bradley may not deserve that, but that's what happens when you hitch your wagon to someone who comes crashing down to Earth in a well-deserved meteoric fall from grace.

"Nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours."

My guess is they both pursue Urban Meyer hard, who is still technically on the fence, and both fail to get him. I think he is out of coaching and just likes the attention. Al Golden, by this time, will have realized that even with the sanctions, Miami is a sleeping giant and fertile recruiting ground. Why leave and follow a coach like Joe Paterno (who's legacy has just been recently tarnished, but hey that statue ain't goin anywhere) when you can rebuild Miami and become a legend in your own right. I don't think he leaves The U unless sanctions are that bad.

guh

I really can't imagine Meyer or these big names going to PSU right now. With this big of a black eye, no AD, etc the program is nuclear.

Maybe they'll hire their version of Ellerbe, someone who can dink around for a couple of years until things pass over, and then go after Meyer or Schiano. I just can't imagine those guys even wanting to be associated with this mess right now.

If the OSU stuff drags out, it could be interesting to see two of the most storried football programs (OSU and PSU) trying to lure elite coaches in the face of some of the biggest football scandals ever.

I don't think RR follows the analogy. He/She means that there will be an intermediary coach, like Kiffin who came in after Carroll, and presumably there will be a a legendary type coach to come in after Kiffin to restore the glory, like Saban did for Bama. Could be misreading it though.

I get the point, but don't think Kiffin is a good example. If you're hiring someone to be a bridge through the controvesial years, then that person should not be controvesial themself. Otherwise you get compound controvesy growth, which is never good.

The past is history, the future's a mystery. Being alive in this moment is a gift--that's why they call it the present.

I would have agreed with that before and it might still be true but now that the scandal, although not an NCAA based scandal, involves several people within the program, will PSU feel like they have to take an outsider to cut the stink off?

"Michigan man or woman. To me, it's a great love for the University of Michigan. There's a selflessness there. It's what can you do for the University of Michigan, not what the Universtiy of Michigan can do for you." JH

It is not likely that there will be a trial within the next few months, and it may well be closer to a year before the trial occurs. They can't wait that long to act. As a result, I agree with those who say they will have to clean house. Further, there is no guarantee that a trial will let everyone know who was involved or that there will be a trial at all. It seems pretty likely to me that Sandusky's lawyers will try to get a plea deal that keeps him out of a maximum security prison.

Harbaugh football is not just "hit 'em in the mouth." There are sophisticated strategies, but they all serve a physical approach. As a defender, you know that after all the deception, someone big is going to run into you.

I agree with you only if the internal candidate has no knowledge or experience with the situation that caused all of this turmoil. If they all were part of it, or knew about it and did nothing, then they may completely clean house IMO...

"It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing."

inappropriate behavior with a minor in the football locker room are a little different. Last time I checked Fickell is the Interim coach... I dont think you can draw conclusion from two totally different situations.

"It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing."

In his radio interview shorly after his "retirement" he mentioned the shadiness of the SEC coaches and ADs. I don't think he had any real health issues, he was burnt out of coaching in the SEC trying to keep up with all the other dirty programs. His heart has always been in the Big Ten, but I don't think he'd go to PSU. Not close enough to home and he doesn't want to go somewhere where he has to put up with more BS that he didn't have Anything to do with.

the Sandusky allegations were kept a secret, a very limited number of people knew. Penn State will promote from within because that's what they've always done. An interim AD wouldn't dare to go outside the tribe (see RR to UM 2008-10); Penn State has just as many former players and coaches who care deeply about Penn State.

Assuming I'm correct about the limited knowledge, Tom Bradley should not be penalized for something about which he knew nothing.

The question is, tohugh, with this shit storm raging, and not going to calm down for a LONG while, will Bradley want to take the job and put up with it? He did, after all, coach under and learn from Sandusky. He'll get hounded until the trial is over.

He absolutely will want the job. Or, at least, he will want it more than an outsider like Schiano or Urban Meyer. And Penn State needs to keep the staff together. It's an excellent staff outside of Jay Paterno.

I realize he has accomplished a lot in his career, but the top bullet on his resume is now and forever his facilitation of a serial child rapist arguably since 1999, and without question since 2002. He's lucky he's not going to jail. Further, keep in mind that Joe knew about the grand jury investigation - which occurred long before the season opener. He could have retired then. Heck, he could have retired back in 2008/2009 when the sharks supposedly began circliing on the Sandusky investigation. But he stayed on, because he wasn't at 409 yet.

So you're Urban Meyer. You want to negotiate a multi-million dollar contract. You want to know the administration is committed to expanding facilities (don't they always want that), more money for assistant coaches, off-season programs, extra income (e.g. clinics, adversiting, TV shows, etc.).

Now... WHO DO YOU NEGOTIATE WITH?

There's a power vacuum. The PSU President is under fire. There's no AD. There's no VP in charge of athletic finances. You have no idea who your boss, or his boss, or his boss's boss, will be, going forward. And there's no one to really negotiate with, unless its someone with the term "interim" or "under-attack-and-soon-to-be-outgoing" next to his title.

You want that? You're Urban Meyer, you'll settle for this situation?

It's Sci Time -- Science, culture and common sense: http://itsscitime.wordpress.com

How do you figure? If he's aware of anything, it's likely that in 1998 their was an investigation of Sandusky that did not result in charges, and nothing more.

Stories like McQueary's aren't generally successfully hidden for a decade by involving a horde of conspirators.

But again - and I can't stress this enough - being aware of rumors regarding a former employee doesn't obligate, or even reccomend that anyone do anything.

"Hearing around the campus" that Sandusky was a creep is not evidence against Sandusky. Even IF Bradley, Johnson, Hall, Jay Paterno, whoever else heard these rumors, it's impossible to claim they've done anything wrong. Unless you think it's likely that McQueary told the assembled staff that he witnessed Sandusky raping a child (which I find doubtful), I'm not sure what any of these other people did wrong.

Penn State is toxic right now. Why the hell would Meyer take that job after this shit? I'd rather go to OSU with the NCAA so far up my ass if Mark Emmert spits it's coming out of my mouth than go to PSU. Who's going to want to send their kids to Pedophile State now? It's not like the top recruits are fawning to go there already.

With these new allegations, one could easily make the argument that the Big Ten has been the worst conference of the past 10 years in terms of off the field behavior, not only in running afoul of the NCAA, but the legal system as well.

Some of that has to fall on the Big Ten front offices, and Delany at some point, doesn't it?

It seems the Big Ten has created a "do nothing" culture in response to these major issues, and by do nothing I essentially mean, look the other way, and hope that it doesn't come back to bite you in the ass.

What could Delaney do to prevent it? You're literally yammering on about nothing. Delaney had no way of knowing, how could he have done something? And even then, this is a criminal matter, not an NCAA matter. PSU didn't break NCAA rules as far as anyone knows. It's not a PR disaster for the Big 10. It's a PSU incident.

One of the conference's premier institutions was employing, and then harboring a child rapist, who had several incidents which the school was aware of prior to the one which blew the lid off of the scandal. This incident may inevitably cause all of the major leaders of that institution to resign, including their legendary football coach, who has been a relative figurehead for the Big Ten conference.

It's not an issue of whether Delany could have prevented it, and that an incredibly simplistic and incorrect summation of my position.

IMO, it's an institutional issue at this point. You've got member schools running amok of both NCAA laws, and laws in general. At some point, the leadership of the Big Ten needs to step up, say, "Enough." They need to start severely penalizing members for their behavior, rather than turning a blind eye, and/or passing the buck onto the individual institutions by saying, "PSU didn't break NCAA rules as far as anyone knows. It's not a PR disaster for the Big 10. It's a PSU incident."

Maybe they didn't break any NCAA laws, but what they did is far worse than breaking any NCAA laws, and if they're willing to turn a blind eye to something this horrible, what else?

The Big Ten is about more than just athletics, and if new incidents keep coming to light, at some point there has to be leadership from the top.

It's become pretty clear that the Big Ten leadership has failed to continually keep in line with the standards the conference is supposed to uphold, and they've failed to instill a culture of compliance and accountability in member institutions.

The Big Ten's schools have looked pretty disgusting of late, and that's a problem for the conference.

One of the conference's premier institutions was employing, and then harboring a child rapist, who had several incidents which the school was aware of prior to one which blew the lid off of the scandal. This incident may inevitably cause all of the major leaders of that institution to resign, including their legendary football coach, who has been a relative figurehead for the Big Ten conference.

So, I would say that it is definitely an issue for the Big Ten.

It's also an issue as far as student safety, and charitable work the university and Big Ten does as a whole with regard to young children.

Even if you were to ignore all of the above, it's yet another major PR disaster for the Big Ten. It's gone from a few isolated incidents to a growing trend.

You're right in that maybe the conference should look into passing guidelines on how member institutions deal with non-profit organizations, but I don't see the B1G getting involved unless there is a complete breakdown in the handling of this matter at every single level of PSU's leadership. And from the looks of the recent reports, it seems as if PSU's Board of Trustees is taking matters into its own hands after Spanier and Paterno's laughable initial reaction to the scandal.

RR in USF... never thought of that before... actually that would be KILLER. He's living in Florida now, right? In a pushoever conference -- well, whichever / however the Big East ends up -- no real defense or manball offense in sight that side of Idaho (maybe). He'd definitely build a winner there.

It's Sci Time -- Science, culture and common sense: http://itsscitime.wordpress.com

I think they need to make a clean break and go outside the family. If there was a handshake agreement in place for Tom Bradley to take over, it likely just blew up because I'm sure PSU will want to avoid any questions about who on the current staff that served alongside Sandusky knew about his proclivities and didn't say anything. Ditto for Al Golden and Greg Schiano.

My guess is that the new AD will show up at Urban Meyer's house with a truckload of money and a promise to top anything Ohio State offers him. Hell, they might even hire an AD with prior ties to Meyer just to improve their chances at landing him.

It should. This scandal appears deeply rooted in the entire PSU athletic department. And it's a hell of a lot worse than knowing about kids getting improper tattoos.

If this doesn't technically deserve the death penalty, the NCAA should probably rewrite the rulebook.

Either way, the huge hit PSU is taking from the top down should preclude major national candidates from taking the job. If you were Urban Meyer, would you want to be known as the coach of "kiddly fiddler U?"

They fill it internally, with Tom Bradley--unless he's implicated in some way, which he may be. If so, they find some good but relatively obscure name from a lower conference who doesn't really have other options in the BCS conferences at the moment.

When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing. -Bo

From the AD to the last GSA in the football program. The guy who hands out towels in the locker room might be able to save his job. Maybe.

Penn State's biggest problem going forward will be in recruiting. Who wants to send their son to a program in which child sexual abuse occurred over a long period of time? Every recruit's parents will have to wonder, "if they let that stuff happen for so many years, what else would they let happen?" Other schools won't even have to go negative about it (although they will); that question will just be out there.

If Penn State hires anyone who was associated with the program while Jerry Sandusky was there (since the 60s, I believe), those questions will persist.

If Penn State hires a complete outsider who brings in his own staff of people with no Penn State ties, it has a chance to eventually put those questions behind it.

This scandal taints everything about Joe Paterno's legacy. The scandal will not only cost Paterno his job; it will cut off his legacy immediately.

I do not think it's a coincedence that one week before all of this hit, Al Golden began renegotiating his contract with Miami. The funny thing is that at last year's M vs PSU game I was talking to the PSU fans and even though most liked Al, they felt he wasn't ready.

After he got the Miami job, that all changed. Much like when the girl that's really into you starts dating another guy because you didn't give her a chance, they really wanted him over the summer coming into this year.

Whoever they hire, now the way the conferences are aligned, I hope they get a baller coach. We need a strong PSU to keep Pennsylvania recruits away from neighboring Ohio State, and to also beat Ohio State occasionally. If PSU is going to be down, Ohio State will only have one legit conference threat and that's Wiscy, whereas we will always have Neb, MSU and Iowa.

They are going to want someone outside of that program's "dark" window or a complete outsider, since anyone who coached along with Sandusky will undoubtedly have that stench on him at PSU. My guess is Schiano would be out then. Maybe Golden in Miami or another young-ish coach from the SEC, like Mullen at MSU. I don't think a big-name coach will necessarily want to step in there, given the legal issues surrounding the university and the recruiting fallout, but it is a prestige program and (sad to say) these issues are not football-specific, so that could help as well.

I would imagine they need someone morally unimpeachable. A football John Beilein if you will. I'm not sure if someone like that exists. Maybe they can promote Bradley after a VERY thorough interview by the Board of Trustees.

Penn State is now more or less guaranteed the pool of left field options, as no one associated with the program will likely become the head coach now. I would seriously doubt anyone who came to the school would want to retain anyone now, if there is anyone left to retain in the end.

My guess would be pretty much what everyone else has said though. Urban Meyer might work out - not as much stress as an outsider (but still quite a background hum of stress given what has transpired), even in this debacle, especially if you retain no one. It at least would give the appearance of making things rights, if that school can ever do that now.

"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."

Hard nosed. Former DC in the Big 10. Took a train wreck of a program and made a decent team. And ethically unimpeachable. Under normal circumstances he would have no shot, but under normal circumstances PSU would promote from within.